Last Thoughts of Squad 451
by PowerPlayer
Summary: Most members of District 13's Star Squad met sad ends, but what was going thru their minds in the moments leading up to their deaths? Read and Review.
1. Leeg 2

**Leeg 2**

So this is what we've been reduced to? Years of training only for us to be turned into a few petty scouts? Such a waste of our talents. Me and my sister have trained for the war for years ready to fight the Capitol, unlike some of the older soldiers that began training years ago and are now too old to fight, and to be forced to be 13's "Star Squad"... unthinkable. This is all the Mockingjay's fault. If she wasn't on the squad than me my sis, and the rest of us would be out on the front lines where the real fight is going on. Instead we've spent the last 4 days triggering pods to make the streets safer for our soldiers. Though I shouldn't blame her for this, in fact I should be grateful. We've gotten every Districts support in the war effort thanks to the Mockingjay and her costume-armor, but this isn't what I wanted and everyone else feels the same.

The way that I was able to shoot those dummies so accurately back home at the training grounds was by thinking they were actual Peacekeepers. Lord knows how much deadlier I would have been if I was shooting real Peacekeepers. I suppose I don't have much say in the matter. Like everyone else I'm just a soldier, someone who just listlessly obeys orders without any questions or complaints. Pretty much a summary of the lives of District 13. I sincerely hope that all of the other Districts don't believe that we've had it easy. Our people have had to live by strict regime's in order to survive, hardly having any time to enjoy ourselves or be with our families. While we've had the advantage of being able to eat three square meals, everyone else gets to enjoy their lives. I don't even know my twin sisters favorite colors, which according to Soldier Everdeen is something the closest people should be able to know off the top of their heads.

With the joy in Soldier Everdeen when she talks about her family and her sadness for those lost in District twelve. She didn't even know a small fraction of them, yet she feels remorse? That isn't how it works with most Soldiers. They're just noble sacrifices, lives lost in the war effort, a means to an end. It's quite ironic actually, we want to defeat the Capitol who uses people as if they're mere fodder while we view them in the same manner. Soldiers are sent into battle like lambs to the slaughter... I wonder why I'm considering this. I'm clearly contradicting my own definition of being a soldier by both questioning and complaining what we're doing. I guess it's because I got a glimpse of the outside world and how other places work. The thing we all have in common is that all Districts are heavily isolated from one another by the Capitol, probably to prevent any thoughts like mine from forming. They lead to questioning in authority which leads to rebellion. One such example is our own Mockingjay who went against the Capitol's authority and survived, leading to the rebellion all of us are fighting in.

Better get a good look at Boggs' holo to see where the next pod is. Let's see, it's over by some purple building with blue streaks. A pod full of mutt gnats. I wonder how they keep the mutts alive, sealed in those traps. That doesn't really matter. They'll be free when the trap is triggered and fly towards us to feed off of. We'll just pull out a special spray Plutarch sent with us to deal with them. It was made to kill these gnats in arena's to make sure that tributes survive, the reason it has no affect on humans.

"Leeg 2, if you could attend to this one."

"Understood Commander Boggs." I suppose in some ways I'm still a soldier, but I'll only question the leaders outside of the battlefield who aren't risking their lives. Everyone on my squad, especially Everdeen and Finnick who could have simply been spokespeople for the war, understands the risks of doing this. They've earned my respect. Time to activate this then. I fix my gun into place, the butt propped on my shoulder and the scope with the area for the pod in full view. The I fir-

I'm on the ground. What happened? I can barely move. I see my Everdeen, Gale, and Homes kneeling on my left side and Finnick, Mitchell, and Jackson at my right. Boggs is calling for medical help. My sis is hugging me tightly. She whispers, "Please don't leave me and our father. We promised to come back. You have to stay with us. With me." So I've been shot. I over hear Boggs speaking sternly, mentioning how the metal darts hit me in the brain. This is the end. And not even a single Peacekeeper fell by my hands. Why? Why couldn't I have helped you all? Why couldn't I fight the Capitol? Why...


	2. Boggs

**Boggs**

If she's sent someone as unstable as Peeta Mellark as a soldier than President Coin must be dead serious about wanting the Mockingjay dead. And if Katniss doesn't watch her step than she'll just end up dead. I suppose that since she has united the Districts againts the Capitol than she ha outlived her usefulness when you think about it. There isn't much else for her to do that can turn the war even more in our favor other than being killed. Whether it be by the Capitol, a pod, or even Peeta Mellark himself, Coin will just announce her death to Panem to spur the fighters on to defeat the Capitol. The Mockingjay's existance is somewhat of a sad one, so man want her dead and even more are being killed by the war she started. To be fighting a war after being in two consecutive Hunger Games and with the rest of these issues on her mind, Soldier Everdeen has a lot weighing down on her shoulders.

She is certainly lucky that I'm not deathly loyal to Coin, otherwise she would already have been killed. As one of the Presidents personal guard, I'm trained to kill, but I can see when a life should be taken. The Peacekeepers, and the Cpitol leaders, not the citizenry of course as they are too stupid to realize what the Capitol does is wrong or their just innocent, have zero tolerance for disobedience andif a single cog isn't working in their great machine that is Panem then that cog is scrapped. Cogs being people and scrapping them meaning killing them. If simple rulebreakers like petty thieves are punished so severely than I suppose that Everdeen is a wrench thrown into the Panem machine. Just like the happy accident she was named after the Capitol never saw her coming. She helped us get here and with all the hardships she's endured, and the struggles she has made to live, Katniss Everdeen has definitely earned her right to live through this war.

As her Commander I am responsible for the wellfare of Squad 451. I have to make sure that the rest of us don't end up like Leeg 2. I hope that Jacksons "real or not real" game can help Mellark regain some of his lost sanity. He could be a great danger to us otherwise. The hijacking has turned him mad and he may lash out at anytime, especially Soldier Everdeen. It was memories of her that were warped by the Capitol meaning she's what he is most afraid of. What is the President thinking? To allow such a dangerous person to fight in the army could kill us. I cannot believe the lengths President Coin is going just to get rid of soldier Everdeen. I remember our conversation all too well.

_"President Coin, this is Commander Boggs of Squad 451."_

_"I remember your voice Boggs. You were my personal guard not too long ago. What are you calling for? I know it isn't just for a liesurely chat."_

_"Quite right Presdent Coin. It's about Leeg 2's replacement Peeta Mellark."_

_"If you are wondering why I sent him over there it was because the propos need to be made more interesting. What better way to do so than by having the star crossed lovers fighting side-by-side, no? Soldier Mellark should have already informed you of this."_

_"Yes, however as the Comander in charge I reccomend that you revoke this action. Despite some progress made, I am afraid that Soldier Mellark may still be too volatile to do any actual combat. Have you sent him to fight, or to kill Soldier Everdeen?"_

_"My reasoning was simply to make the propos more interesting, as I stated earlier. You must cede to the fact that this is a necessity to help encourage our soldiers to fight, and keep the Districts on our side."_

_"Well putting my Squad in danger is not worth that. We already have all of the Districts neck deep in this war. It's too late for any of them to go back without suffering any serious repercussions from the Capitol. Which begets the question; Why have you sent me someone who is completely unnecessary and could even be a hindrance to me?"_

_"Now Boggs, are you questionng the authority of the President?"_

_"Well I..."_

_"This discussion is pointless. As the President of District 13 and leader of the rebellion my decission is final. Are we understood?"_

_"Erm well..."_

_"Are we understood?"_

_"...Yes President Coin."_

_"Good. Now get back to minesweeping. Those pods will a great danger to our troops when they enter the Capitol. I'd rather not sacrifice lives due to anyones negligence. That is all Commander Boggs. President Coin out."_

Does she care about our lives at all? Anyone can see how insane someone would be to send Peeta Mellark with a loaded gun to a battlefield as assistance, even if there is no real battle going on. That is, unless they have an ulterior motive. If Coin is ploting Soldier Everdeen's death, than is she the only one? There are others leading the rebellion who may not be particularly fond of the Mockingjay. Even Plutarch Heavensbee, though he seems to be the least likely consider all of the trouble he went to to help her survive in the arena. Flashing a Mockingjay symbol may not seem like much, but with the Capitol in a fight with some of the Districts at the time it's a huge risk. I had better warn her about not trusting the rebels later on. Also I wonder when she'll realize that I noticed she's been looking at my holo a bit too much for it to just be a healthy curiosity. She probably wants to snatch it when it's active and take off wih Soldiers Hawthorne and Odair to assassinate President Snow. I'll have to talk with Everdeen about that as well later on. For now, lets get this propo done and over with. I hope that we can make this look realistic enough to help with the war cause. I don't feel comfortable giving Soldier Mellark real ammo for his gun so I just load it with blanks.

"I'm not much of a shot anyway." Glad he's alright with this. Why is he staring at Pollux so much? "You're an avox, aren't you? I can tell by the way you swallow..." As I listen to his acount of the two avoxes I recall them in reports. As Commander of Soldier I was given very detailed information of her and people she has met. The girl Lavinia had escaped with her brother when he stole some food. They lived in the poorer vicinity of the Capitol. Rumors have it that they were escaping to District 12 considering that the area they were captured in was the woods around the District. The boy was killed on sight and the girl was turned into an avox for helping a criminal escape. The man Darius was a Peacekeeper and friend to Soldier Everdeen and Soldier Hawthorne, and turned into an avox for tryng to stop Soldier Hawthorne from being punished, though the real reason was most likely to unnerve her before the 75th Hunger Games considering he along with Lavinia served as her avoxes. When he finishes, Soldier Mellark asks "Real or not real?" and when no one responds He screams it, clearly becoming distressed. I respond, fearing he may lash out at us.

"Real. At least to the best of my knowledge... real." As Mellark talks about something not being shiny I go over our current objective in my head. In order to make an interesting propo we have to take a block while being filmed. Messala will add smoke to set the atmosphere and we'll scout out the area. Well we'd better get ready. Hopefully this hasn't become so routine that it's boring for everyone.

"Action!" The camera's rolling. Alright, we slowly walk down the streets, and everyone begins firing where they have been assigned. Soldier Hawthorne fires at the real target, a bullet pod, and everyone either jumps into buildings or flattening onto the multi-colored concrete. Bullets spray out for a while, and when they stop I give the order to move forward.

"Cut! Just a minute Boggs. I need to get a few headshots of everyone diving onto the ground. Alright, everyone get ready." We take a moment to get up and reposition ourselves. "3...2...1... Action!"

Everyone falls to the ground, trying to look as realistic as posible. This proves 1 thing; Squad 451 isn't made of actors. No one can help but find this absurd. Katniss Everdeen is as bad an actor as everyone tells me. Somehow Mitchell is even worse an actor than her. He's simply trying too hard to act and everyone can't help but laugh. As I activate my holo and tell them to keep it together I have to use all of my strength to stifle a smile. Lets see, it's so hard to get a good look at the holo's display with sll of this smoke. Looking at it closely there appears to be an exploding pod-

*Boooooom*

*Boooooom*

Agh... what happened. I can't feel my... my legs have been blown off! I can hear everyone screaming in a panic, and my blood has dyed the building walls and the paving stones a sickly red. I watch as Everdeen and Homes clamor to try and save me, but I know it won't be of any use. I'm going to die and I have to reprogram the holo before it becomes useless. The Capitol probably saw this from a camera in the streets and will begin an attack, activating pods left and right. I reach for Everdeen, griping her wrist, and I can only utter two words. "The Holo." And watch as she searches the wreckage and finds the Holo. Everdeen cleans any debree and blood off of it with her hands and gives it it me. From then on everything is a blur. Homes is trying to fix what's left of my leg, Finnick is reviving Messala, Jackson calling for medics, and Everdeen kneeling next to me. I must get this to her. I type in the activation code and the Holo shines a green light on my face

"Unfit for command. Transfer of of prime security clearence to Squad 451 Soldier Katniss Everdeen." I then bring the Holo to Everdeen's face. "Say your name."

"Katniss Everdeen." The Holo scans her facial features and records her voice so only she can activate it. "What did you do?" I'm about to respond when Jackson shouts an order to retreat.

"Prepare to retreat!" I position my head to see the horror that is coming at us. Some sort of tar-like substance with a horrible stench is coming at us. It must be a pod that the Capitol made after Plutarch left. Gale and Leeg 1 start blasting at the street, activating another explosive, to make sure nobody triggers another pod. Then Homes and Everdeen lift me up and bring me to shelter, if there is anywhere safe here. My pain must have been suppressed by adrenaline because it feels like the area where my legs were is on fire! We just need to get away from the gel and- Graaaah! What happened to Everdeen. Dammit, from the sound of Mellark must have lost it, just as I feared. I can't make out what's hapening, only some struggling and a loud snap, then watch as Soldiers Hawthorne and Leeg 1 fire at the door and begin shooting something else. Afterwhich everyone enters and Castor and Pollux shove a mad Mellar and shove him into a closet, then begin grabbing cloths of all kinds to prevent any fumes from entering. Wait, where's Mitchell? Could he have...

"Mitchell?" asks Homes. When Leeg 1 nods, my suspicions are confirmed. This is all my fault. There's only one thing that I can do now; give the Holo to Everdeen. She has to do what she came here to do. Maybe it's because I've come to care about her, or maybe it's because we can't go back, but I want her to accomplish her mission. And she can't do that with Mellark losing it again, or with the rebels like Coin watching her.. I shove the Holo into her hands and give her my final order.

"Don't trust them. Don't go back. Kill Peeta. Do what you came to do." And with that I draw my last breath. This is all my fault. One simple misstep and...


	3. Mitchell

**Mitchell**

*Haah* Why did this have to happen to me? I don't know how to act, the only things I know about are the chores I do in District 13 and how to pull a trigger to a gun. I have trained for an uprising like this to fight on the battlefield, I never imagined I'd be chosen for these propo's. No point in complaining about the situation, as long as I help in the war effort than I feel pleased with myself. That's how I feel. All District 13's citizen's want is to be able to go out into the sun everyday. We fight for a future free of Capitol control, in which we don't have to be confined to the ground. Living underground, the population spends all of their time working just to stay alive. We're doing this for our own freedom from our would-be fate's as well as Panem's. Most people haven't ever seen the sun a luxory left only to the Disticts that participate in the Hunger Games.

They are the reason that we disappeared and went under the earth. We're somewhat hated for the cowardly act when we started the first rebellion, but can we truly be blamed? We still watch the the Hunger Games and the brutality of it all. Who would want to submit to such a thing? Sending children just to keep the Districts under control shows how uncaring the Capitol is for the Districts. It's almost scary how the leaders see it just to take the lives of children as a punishment to the Districts. This is why we have to fight. This is why we have to win.

Alright, we're starting the latest propo soon, so I had better prepare myself. Our job is pretty routine, we just have to act dramatic to make it an interesting propo. I also have to be ready to subdue Soldier Mellark in case he has some sort of an episode. It's my turn to watch him. I watch as Castor and Pollux get into position to begin filming and wait for Cressida to begin filming. "Action!" There's the signal. and we start down the block to secure it. The smoke Messala releases helps with the atmosphere, or so I'm told. We slowly march down the street with our guns raised. Soldier Hawthorne fires his gun as planned and bullets fly out ofe gun pod as planned. We all duck to the ground and wait out the bullets, trying to look as real as possible. I flare my nostrils and breathe heavily, but apparently I'm overdoing it. Everyone starts laughing including Soldier Everdeen which is especially insulting. Her paltry performance made me look ike a profes-

*Booooooooooom*

An explosion! Just like in training I duck down to the ground to avoid any debree or shrapnel. What in the name of Panem just happened! Could it have been a bomber that escaped "The Nut" or is this just for more ef-

*Booooooooooom*

Another one! This can't be Cressida's doing it's too loud, too real! I keep my head lowered until I hear Jackson calling for a retreat, and see the horror we are retreating from. A black and menacing mass is coming at us and threatens to swallow us all. I get up to assist Hawthorne and Leeg 1 with mine sweeping... but I'm too shocked by the scene before me to move. Boggs' legs have been blown off and he is being carried off by Everdeen and Homes. Wait where's- shit there's Mellark knocking Everdeen to the ground! No time to think, I have to stop him! I tackle Mellark and pin him to the ground just when the gun is set to crush Everdeen's skull. Good, now that he can't move his hands he shouldn't-

Urgh, what happened... that's right, Soldier Mellark must have launched me away with his feet. He's about 5 feet away being restrained by our cameramen. I'm stuck on the ground, being held by barbed wires similar to those on the fence surrounding District 13. Soldier Hawthorne notices my plight and comes to assist me by shooting at the wire's. At this point he's the only person left. Everyone else has retreated into a house that Leeg 1 shot open. As I struggle and Hawthorne shoots I can tell we're thinking the same thing; we can't break the wire.

"Gale!" Hearing Everdeens voice, Soldier Hawthorne hesitates for a moment before heading for the house and shutting the door, leaving me for dead. The sludge has my legs and keeps on going. As I struggle, eventually the only thing left uncovered is my head. My mouth is soon covered with my nose and eyes soon following. I can't see, and I can't breath. My lungs are screaming for air, I can't last much longer! This can't be the end, I can't...


End file.
